The Same Fate, But Different Stories: Connie and Christabel

Connie and Christabel are two different teenage girls who lived in different eras. In the article “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Oates illustrated Connie as a young pretty girl, who liked to look at herself, but rebellious. She always argued with her mother, as well as her sister. Equally, Christabel is portrayed by Coleridge in the article “Christabel” as a young, beautiful, innocent, and honest daughter of Sir Leoline, who loves her very much. The two girls shared the same fate, after being tormented by their adversaries, who pretended to be their friends.

Who Has More Freedom?

Connie seemed to have more freedom than Christabel because her mother allowed her to go anywhere she likes, unlike Christabel, who is protected by her father. Because June, her elder sister, was allowed to go out to watch movies at night with friends, Connie thought that she, too, should be granted such freedom. No one bothered to ask Connie where she had been in the evening out. Being away from home gave Connie the pleasure of chatting with boys in restaurants and parking while teasing others along the way.

Christabel did not have much freedom because she was under her father’s care after losing her mother when she was still young. Her encounter with Geraldine made her fulfil emotional and spiritual desires to assist, although Geraldine was just an evil person, who wanted to destroy her. She utilized the little freedom that she had to bring Geraldine into her room after realizing that Geraldine did not harm her when they were asleep. Christabel knew that her father would listen to her and accept Geraldine to live with them before she goes back to Lord Roland de Vaux, her father and Sir Leoline’s enemy.

Who is More Vulnerable?

Being vulnerable implies that one is at risk of being attacked or harmed. For instance, Christabel had a possibility of being physically attacked when she went out in the woods at midnight to pray for her fiancé. However, she was quite sure that her father would save her in case of any danger while being religious was another form of protection for her. Her encounter with Geraldine made her vulnerable, as Geraldine took advantage of Christabel’s kindness to put a spell on her. Christabel was able to recognize that Geraldine was evil, which made her feel that Geraldine was a threat to her, but was not vulnerable to her.

On the other hand, Connie appeared to be more vulnerable than Christabel because she had a habit of running off with people she did not know during her night outs with friends. She always wanted to attract attention, which consequently caught attention of the wrong people. Besides, Connie’s parents did not care much about their daughter, which made the situation even worse for her. Running away with Arnold Friend was not unusual to Connie, as she had already made herself vulnerable by being left alone at home, despite her young age. Arnold seemed to know Connie’s friends, but she seemed not too familiar with Arnold. The attempt to call the police depicted the vulnerability of Connie, as she had realized that Arnold and his friend had a sinister motive.

Who Commits a Greater Offense?

Connie committed a greater offense compared to Christabel because the former exposed herself to risk by being left home alone and hanging around with bad friends. Connie did not respect her parents, and all she wanted was to be free and explore her surroundings as she wished. The boys took advantage of her vulnerability, did an investigation about her movements and friend, and eventually kidnapped her. They forced her to leave her home . On the other hand, Christabel situation did not turn out to be an offense because she had saved Lord de Vaux’s daughter.

Conclusion

Both Connie and Christabel seemed to have different desires, as the former did not care about religion while the latter was devoted to religion. Connie is filled with the desires of being free, and her daydreams are filled with ideas of love and romance, even though she is still young to Connie does not like way her mother treated her, and she would sometimes wish that she was dead. Her mind was always filled with worthless daydreams of how she would attract more men. She managed to elope with Arnold, who she thought was better than either of her family members. Christabel had the desire to assist, thus, she managed to bring Geraldine to her father’s castle, despite having no idea who Geraldine really was. Even before meeting Geraldine, Christabel harbored the desires of intimacy, which made her leave the house to go to the bush at night in order to pray for her fiancé. However, Geraldine seemed to have destroyed her through her mysterious spell, which transformed her generosity into selfishness after recovering from the spell. Her selfish desires were ignored by her father, who wanted to reconcile with Geraldine’s father after many years of enmity.